Saints training camp opens today and for the first time in the 5 years Jonathan Vilma has been a part of the team they will be without their defensive leader and captain manning the middle. In fact, he won’t be around at all. It’s not obvious he’d be able to practice regardless with the recent revelation that his knee continues to give him problems, but not having him in team meetings and in the locker room adds to the problem. At this stage of his career his leadership is likely more valuable than his contributions on the field.
Vilma continues to sort out his legal battle with the NFL and he has yet to reach any sort of settlement. It is my firm belief that Vilma will end up suspended for all of 2012 despite all this fanfare, but I do admire him fighting the good fight against the NFL and I believe it was the only course of action he could really take. I do not expect it to bare any fruits though. So the Saints will rely heavily on Curtis Lofton to step into Vilma’s shoes and immediately assume the roles Vilma filled before. I expect David Hawthorne, Scott Shanle, Roman Harper, Malcolm Jenkins, Will Smith when he’s not suspended, and Jabari Greer to step up their contributions in other areas Vilma brought to the team as well. At this point those are the veterans either replacing Vilma’s position directly on the field, or the guys most likely to leave positive impressions on the young defense due to their outspoken nature and tenure on the team.
The look of this team is very different when you consider Gregg Williams, Sean Payton and likely Vilma won’t be in New Orleans for all of 2012. Instead the Saints have Steve Spagnolo, Joe Vitt (in part) and Curtis Lofton. There will be much needed adjustments to accomodate these changes and it won’t be a smooth training camp in that regard. Make no mistake, the absence of Vilma’s mentorship and vocal personality will be missed. It’s up to Lofton, more than anyone else, to make his presence known immediately. The sooner he commands respect, the quicker the Saints can move forward without what was a key part of their defense for half a decade.
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